Recipe: Appetizing Honey Ham Mac 'N Cheese Bake

Honey Ham Mac 'N Cheese Bake.

You can cook Honey Ham Mac 'N Cheese Bake using 19 ingredients and 10 steps. Here is how you cook it.

Ingredients of Honey Ham Mac 'N Cheese Bake

1. It's 1 lb of Elbow Macaroni.
2. It's 1/4 cup of Butter.
3. Prepare 3 tbsp of All Purpose Flour.
4. You need 1 can of (12 oz.) Evaporated Milk.
5. It's 1 1/2 cup of Milk.
6. It's 1 large of Egg.
7. It's 1 cup of Cooked Ham, Diced.
8. You need 3 tbsp of Brown Sugar.
9. You need 1 tbsp of Water.
10. You need 1 1/2 cup of Cheddar Cheese (Shredded).
11. You need 1/2 cup of Colby or Monterey Jack Cheese (Shredded our cubed).
12. Prepare 1/2 cup of Mozzarella Cheese (shredded or cubed).
13. It's 2 tsp of Dried Mustard, or 1 heaping tsp. Dijon Mustard (preferred).
14. It's 1 1/2 tsp of Dried Minced Onion (optional).
15. Prepare 1 tsp of Paprika.
16. Prepare 1/2 tsp of Cayenne Pepper (optional).
17. It's 1/2 tsp of Salt.
18. Prepare 1/2 tsp of seasoned salt (seasoned salt).
19. Prepare 1/2 tsp of Black Pepper (optional).

Honey Ham Mac 'N Cheese Bake instructions

1. Preheat Oven to 350°F..
2. In a large pot boil the water for the Macaroni. Add some salt (not the amount in the above ingredients) about a few dashes to the water to flavor the macaroni. When water comes to a boil put in the pasta and cook until al dente, it needs to be quite firm when you bring it out of the water. I usually test the macaroni about 4-5 minutes into the cooking process. When it's done just drain and set aside..
3. In a small greased (with cooking spray or butter) sauce pan put in the cooked ham after the pan is hot put in the brown sugar and the water and let simmer until browned on edges. I used left over ham, and If you dont have any left over ham you can buy a single slab of ham and use it, but just cook it a little longer. When it's done just set aside..
4. In a small bowl whisk the egg until well beaten and set aside..
5. In another large pot heat the butter until it's melted. Put in the flour to make a roux. Whisk the mixture together over medium-low heat being careful not to burn, until totally combined. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes whisking constantly..
6. Put in the evaporated milk along with the regular milk, mustard, dried minced onion, paprika, and cayenne pepper (optional) making sure to continue stirring constantly..
7. Now, whisk the mixture together and cook for about 5 minutes. It will get extremely thick, almost like a cream gravy..
8. When it gets to a gravy consistently, reduce the heat to low. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to retrieve a small amount of the sauce and pour in small amounts into the beaten egg, and begin whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs. Keep whisking until mixture is cooled by tempering the egg and introducing some of the hot mixture into the egg. Keep whisking until mixture is cooled. (Rather than dump the beaten egg into the very hot mixture in the pan—which would result in the eggs scrambling, and you don't want that).
9. Now pour the tempered egg into the pot of gravy, whisking it together until totally combined. After the egg is combined pour in the Mozzarella, Colby (or Monterey Jack), and all but 1/2 cup of the Cheddar Cheese to reserve for the topping. Stir until cheese is completely melted and now add both the salt and seasoned salt little by little until you get the right flavor. At this point you can also add the 1/2 tsp of black pepper to taste..
10. Now just dump in the drained, not-fully-cooked macaroni as well as the cooked ham. Stir until macaroni is completely coated with the cheese sauce. Dump the mixture into a greased 2 quart casserole dish or a 9 x 13" baking pan (either will work). Top with the reserved cheese making sure to spread evenly and I even like to dash some paprika on top as well. Put it in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until bubbly..